This will be short, as I got in late last night and everyone is up early this morning.
Vacation Bible School went well yesterday. Last year on the first day, they had 60 students. Yesterday, they had 80. Everyone was very happy with the turnout. Yesterday`s emphasis was that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Each day we have a central theme and verse(s). The younger kids learn shorter verses and the older students learn longer verses.
Our team is entirely in a support role, so we help set up the puppet stage, put up a tarp to keep out the sun and hauled grass from the area where we are working to a compost area (a lady continued to "mow" the grass with a weed-whacker).
Afterwards, Rod took us on a ride up the mountains to see the two volcanoes in the area, one active and one dormant. We also went to a waterfall and stream. Seemed just like Colorado. On the drive, Rod and I talked quite a bit about everything from the national literacy rates in Mexico to our favorite music and everything in between.
We ate supper at a modern Mexican mall. I drove home with Samuel, and we talked about how he uses science and physics to share the gospel with students in Mexico.
Today is day 2 of VBS and afterwards, some of us may go with Darroll when he teaches a self-defense class in Puebla, and see how he uses it for ministry.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Ixtapaluca - Sunday Night
Been a very nice day today. Rose and had breakfast (desayuno) with my host family. We had the equivalent of corn flakes & milk as well as black beans and crackers. very good. I can`t say how much I enjoy my host family. They are so nice. They have two dogs who were playing with a small kitten in the living room this morning. Very fun. Marta (the wife) was listening to Mexican worship music when I got up.
We went to church where approximately 80 or so people crowded into a small room for worship. The worship music was loud. We had 2 electric guitars, 3 acoustic guitars and I filled in on bass. Josh and a local drummer shared the drum duties. Today was a special service that they have once a month. There was no sermon, we just had communion and then had a time of sharing. A number of Mexicans in the service shared about their lives. I could understand about 50% of what was said. One lady was very emotional. A few of our group also shared. Then the drama team from our church performed the mime drama that they will do during the week.
After the service, we went to the home of Samuel, one of the church members, who lives in a very nice neighborhood up in the hills outside Ixtapaluca. Samuel is a Physics and mathematics teacher (college and high school) and is also VERY creative. He has created a comic book to teach physics (no kidding), while at the same time using it to share the gospel. It was really cool. He and a partner have also created a cartoon that shares Christian principles. I didn`t realize that Mexico produces almost no cartoons within the country. Everything is brought in from the United States. I watched 5-10 minutes of the cartoon and it was really professional.
We all ate together, and once again, the food was fantastic. We had tortillas with beef and cactus (yes - cactus). The Mexican students and our students had paintball and water balloon fights after we ate. The two groups of students are getting to know one another well and get along great.
While the students were having fun together, Rod and Darroll took us on a ride to the top of the hill so that we could see our villages from above. Things made more sense then! We also saw some ancient pyramids and picked up some pottery pieces.
Tomorrow we begin Vacation Bible School. Our students are very excited. Even though we`ll be in a support role, everyone is ready to go.
I`ve really been enjoying speaking in Spanish. It seems to be getting easier all the time. At times, when I`ve been speaking in Spanish for awhile, I forget to change back to English when talking with our students.
I`ll give you an update tomorrow when I return to my host homes, or else early Tuesday morning.
Love,
Tim
We went to church where approximately 80 or so people crowded into a small room for worship. The worship music was loud. We had 2 electric guitars, 3 acoustic guitars and I filled in on bass. Josh and a local drummer shared the drum duties. Today was a special service that they have once a month. There was no sermon, we just had communion and then had a time of sharing. A number of Mexicans in the service shared about their lives. I could understand about 50% of what was said. One lady was very emotional. A few of our group also shared. Then the drama team from our church performed the mime drama that they will do during the week.
After the service, we went to the home of Samuel, one of the church members, who lives in a very nice neighborhood up in the hills outside Ixtapaluca. Samuel is a Physics and mathematics teacher (college and high school) and is also VERY creative. He has created a comic book to teach physics (no kidding), while at the same time using it to share the gospel. It was really cool. He and a partner have also created a cartoon that shares Christian principles. I didn`t realize that Mexico produces almost no cartoons within the country. Everything is brought in from the United States. I watched 5-10 minutes of the cartoon and it was really professional.
We all ate together, and once again, the food was fantastic. We had tortillas with beef and cactus (yes - cactus). The Mexican students and our students had paintball and water balloon fights after we ate. The two groups of students are getting to know one another well and get along great.
While the students were having fun together, Rod and Darroll took us on a ride to the top of the hill so that we could see our villages from above. Things made more sense then! We also saw some ancient pyramids and picked up some pottery pieces.
Tomorrow we begin Vacation Bible School. Our students are very excited. Even though we`ll be in a support role, everyone is ready to go.
I`ve really been enjoying speaking in Spanish. It seems to be getting easier all the time. At times, when I`ve been speaking in Spanish for awhile, I forget to change back to English when talking with our students.
I`ll give you an update tomorrow when I return to my host homes, or else early Tuesday morning.
Love,
Tim
Ixtapaluca - Sunday morning, 7:34 a.m.
Well, yesterday was the first full day in Ixtapaluca. I had breakfast with my host family (Ismael & Marta). After breakfast (desayuno), Ishmael and I walked about 6 or 8 blocks to buy tortillas for Marta, who makes some type of tortillas and sells them a few days on the street here in their neighborhood.
Ismael and I talked during our walk about a lot of things. He asked about the materials used in the construction of homes in America (wood is very expensive here, so most homes are made of concrete or brick), and we talked about the schools.
After we returned, our team met at the home of David (a native missionary) for devotions and singing. The kids shared some of what they`d learned so far.
The next thing on the morning agenda was to go and prepare the area where we`d be having Vacation Bible School on Monday. We walked about 3 blocks to an area near a huge water tower that is called El Reloj (the clock). There we mowed the area in the Mexican style - with hedge trimmers. Yes hard to believe, but we cut the grass around some slides and in other areas (and not a small area) with hedge trimmers and them manually picked up the grass and put it in garbage bags.
At the same time, we swept and mopped out a few salons (small storefonts - similar to a storage unit in the United States). Once they were swept and mopped, we began to put things in place for Monday and cut out small items for our use as well.
The puppet team and the drama team met to rehearse, and 4 boys went to a home to flll sand bags for a game (don`t ask - I don`t understand either). Then we gathered to have lunch. Darrol brought a grill and we had an American-style barbeque.
At 3:00 a number of the musicians went with Rod and rehearsed to help out with music. Josh played drums without drumsticks. He may have used a wooden spoon, but I`m not sure. (there will be drumsticks this morning). Since we had an abundance of guitar players, I played bass. It was fun, however at times it was hard to follow, since we had to follow all the words in Spanish.
Afterwards, everyone was pretty tired, so we all sent and hung out at Tina`s new apartment for awhile. At around 8:00 some of the boys and men attended a bible study for Mexican men at David`s house. We studied Colossians 4. My host, Ishmael, led the study. It was interestsing, in that, while my Spanish is not excellent, I could probably understand 50% of more of what was being said, at least in a general way. On occasion, Rod translated for us.
After sharing prayer requests and spending time in prayer, we all went out as a group for tacos (taqueria). I had two tripa tacos (I didn`t realize there were plain pork tacos) and a diet coke. Most of the time I sat by Ishmael and talked to him. I won`t pretend that my Spanish has improved signifiantly, but it seemed easier yesterday. I also think that Ishmael is learning my strenths and weaknesses and is compensating by the words he chooses.
Both Ishmael and Marta like to read and they have some famous books on their shelves by Bram Stoker, Alexander Dumas and Robert Louis Stevenson. We talked about books and other cultural things.
We returned home about 11:00 and sat down with Marta and had tea and coffee and talked for another hour and a half. This time the conversation moved towards spiritual things. We talked about the challenges of evangelism here in the Mexican church, bibilcal literacy of the people and our spritual pasts. They were both surpised when I told them that our church attended was between 375 and 400. Most of their lives, I believe they`ve attended chuches of less than 50 people, although I`m told that we may have 70-100 this morning.
We`ll be leaving for church in about an hour and a half. I wish I could upload pictures, but I can`t find the USB port on the computer and don`t want to move things around too much.
Till tomorrow,
Tim
Ismael and I talked during our walk about a lot of things. He asked about the materials used in the construction of homes in America (wood is very expensive here, so most homes are made of concrete or brick), and we talked about the schools.
After we returned, our team met at the home of David (a native missionary) for devotions and singing. The kids shared some of what they`d learned so far.
The next thing on the morning agenda was to go and prepare the area where we`d be having Vacation Bible School on Monday. We walked about 3 blocks to an area near a huge water tower that is called El Reloj (the clock). There we mowed the area in the Mexican style - with hedge trimmers. Yes hard to believe, but we cut the grass around some slides and in other areas (and not a small area) with hedge trimmers and them manually picked up the grass and put it in garbage bags.
At the same time, we swept and mopped out a few salons (small storefonts - similar to a storage unit in the United States). Once they were swept and mopped, we began to put things in place for Monday and cut out small items for our use as well.
The puppet team and the drama team met to rehearse, and 4 boys went to a home to flll sand bags for a game (don`t ask - I don`t understand either). Then we gathered to have lunch. Darrol brought a grill and we had an American-style barbeque.
At 3:00 a number of the musicians went with Rod and rehearsed to help out with music. Josh played drums without drumsticks. He may have used a wooden spoon, but I`m not sure. (there will be drumsticks this morning). Since we had an abundance of guitar players, I played bass. It was fun, however at times it was hard to follow, since we had to follow all the words in Spanish.
Afterwards, everyone was pretty tired, so we all sent and hung out at Tina`s new apartment for awhile. At around 8:00 some of the boys and men attended a bible study for Mexican men at David`s house. We studied Colossians 4. My host, Ishmael, led the study. It was interestsing, in that, while my Spanish is not excellent, I could probably understand 50% of more of what was being said, at least in a general way. On occasion, Rod translated for us.
After sharing prayer requests and spending time in prayer, we all went out as a group for tacos (taqueria). I had two tripa tacos (I didn`t realize there were plain pork tacos) and a diet coke. Most of the time I sat by Ishmael and talked to him. I won`t pretend that my Spanish has improved signifiantly, but it seemed easier yesterday. I also think that Ishmael is learning my strenths and weaknesses and is compensating by the words he chooses.
Both Ishmael and Marta like to read and they have some famous books on their shelves by Bram Stoker, Alexander Dumas and Robert Louis Stevenson. We talked about books and other cultural things.
We returned home about 11:00 and sat down with Marta and had tea and coffee and talked for another hour and a half. This time the conversation moved towards spiritual things. We talked about the challenges of evangelism here in the Mexican church, bibilcal literacy of the people and our spritual pasts. They were both surpised when I told them that our church attended was between 375 and 400. Most of their lives, I believe they`ve attended chuches of less than 50 people, although I`m told that we may have 70-100 this morning.
We`ll be leaving for church in about an hour and a half. I wish I could upload pictures, but I can`t find the USB port on the computer and don`t want to move things around too much.
Till tomorrow,
Tim
Time......
As an American, fill in the blank below:
Time is __________
Virtually every American knows that time is money. We need to SPEND our time wisely we need to SAVE time and not WASTE time...etc...
When we sat down with the missionaries here, one of the first things we were told is that as Americans, our culture has an entirely different perspective on time that is ingrained into us.
As you might expect, to the average Mexican, time is not a commodity. Time is life. It is meant to be enjoyed an not broken into small segments and managed. In this culture, love and friendship are commnicated by time spent together. As we`ve spoken with the missionaries, they`ve told us that one big adjustment here is that a neighbor might drop by and spend 2 or 3 hours visiting with you, or ask you to stop by for almuerzo (our lunchtime) or for the eveing meal, but then want you to say for hours and visit.
As I thought about this, I compared this with my own life in the states. I have 4 houses that surround me and I barely know the names of my neighbors. Most of them have never been inside my home, let alone over for a meal. I imagine your situation may be somewhat similar.
It`s funny that you really don`t see the ingrained parts of your own culture very well, until you are placed in a situation where the practices are entirely different.
Time is __________
Virtually every American knows that time is money. We need to SPEND our time wisely we need to SAVE time and not WASTE time...etc...
When we sat down with the missionaries here, one of the first things we were told is that as Americans, our culture has an entirely different perspective on time that is ingrained into us.
As you might expect, to the average Mexican, time is not a commodity. Time is life. It is meant to be enjoyed an not broken into small segments and managed. In this culture, love and friendship are commnicated by time spent together. As we`ve spoken with the missionaries, they`ve told us that one big adjustment here is that a neighbor might drop by and spend 2 or 3 hours visiting with you, or ask you to stop by for almuerzo (our lunchtime) or for the eveing meal, but then want you to say for hours and visit.
As I thought about this, I compared this with my own life in the states. I have 4 houses that surround me and I barely know the names of my neighbors. Most of them have never been inside my home, let alone over for a meal. I imagine your situation may be somewhat similar.
It`s funny that you really don`t see the ingrained parts of your own culture very well, until you are placed in a situation where the practices are entirely different.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Saturday Morning - Ixtapaluca
Well, if there is one thing I`ve learned already, it is that computer keyboards are not the same all over the world. I`m struggling a bit with the one I`m using now as the layout is not exactly the same as at home.
Our flight to Mexico City on Thursday went without incident. Arrived about 3:00 p.m. central time. After passing our luggage on to Rod (the main missionary here) and Darrol Prusia, we took the metro to our hotel.
In general, Mexico City wasn`t nearly as crowded as I expected. Thursday evening we ate at a taqueria. They served us tacos, which are about 1/2 the size of those in the states. They were very good, althugh the choice of meats was interesting. You could have pork and beef (no problem) or tripe, which was beef intestine or beef tongue. I had one of the tripe tacos before I knew what it was. It tasted fine, but I couldn¨t eat another after knowing what it was.
That evening, we went to the Zocalo plaza, which was a mile or more from our hotel. Very beautfiul place. I may try uploading pictures from my camera later, but you google it if you want.
We returned to the hotel and after a team meeting with Rod & Darroll, we all got to bed about 11:00, after having been up since around 2:00 the previous day.
Friday morning, we had breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and went to the Basillica of the Virigin of Guadalupe. Quite a bit of climbing.
We then returned to downtown Mexico City via the subway (metro) and had lunch at a nice restaurant before finally leaving for Ixtapaluca.
The drive from Mexico City to Ixtapaluca was something to see. The traffic is as bad as you`ve heard. We finally arrived at Rod`s home, which is in what I think is called a puebalito (a small neighborhood). Very prety with lots of color. We had supper there and the students (both American and Mexican) played games to learn each others names, and also watched a movie together.
At about 10:30, Rod dropped me off at my host home. My hosts are named Ismael and Marta, and they have two daughters, one of which still lives at home. I`ll go into more detail later (I need to get ready for breakfast here in a minute), but the missionaries told us that the Mexican people are very relational. I found this to be true. My hosts speak no English, but we talked for the next two hours, sharing pictures of our families.
From all our conversations, I found that they had been married about as long as Lora and I, and that their older daugher, Elba, is married and has one child. I met their younger daughter, Gabriel, last night, and will meet Elba on Monday when she comes to help with vacation Bible School.
It seems that Ismael and Marta have been Christians for about 23 years. Rod told me earlier that when the church here is fully mature, they would like Ismael to become their pastor.
Need to go, but in spite of my butchering of the Spanish languge, we were able to communicate a lot about our families, what Nebraska was like (they couldn`t believe the range of temperatures) and our lives in general. Very, very nice people.
Well, gotta run. I`ll try and write again tonight. I have a computer in my room (actually Gabrieli`s room), which was totally unexpected.
Tim
Our flight to Mexico City on Thursday went without incident. Arrived about 3:00 p.m. central time. After passing our luggage on to Rod (the main missionary here) and Darrol Prusia, we took the metro to our hotel.
In general, Mexico City wasn`t nearly as crowded as I expected. Thursday evening we ate at a taqueria. They served us tacos, which are about 1/2 the size of those in the states. They were very good, althugh the choice of meats was interesting. You could have pork and beef (no problem) or tripe, which was beef intestine or beef tongue. I had one of the tripe tacos before I knew what it was. It tasted fine, but I couldn¨t eat another after knowing what it was.
That evening, we went to the Zocalo plaza, which was a mile or more from our hotel. Very beautfiul place. I may try uploading pictures from my camera later, but you google it if you want.
We returned to the hotel and after a team meeting with Rod & Darroll, we all got to bed about 11:00, after having been up since around 2:00 the previous day.
Friday morning, we had breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and went to the Basillica of the Virigin of Guadalupe. Quite a bit of climbing.
We then returned to downtown Mexico City via the subway (metro) and had lunch at a nice restaurant before finally leaving for Ixtapaluca.
The drive from Mexico City to Ixtapaluca was something to see. The traffic is as bad as you`ve heard. We finally arrived at Rod`s home, which is in what I think is called a puebalito (a small neighborhood). Very prety with lots of color. We had supper there and the students (both American and Mexican) played games to learn each others names, and also watched a movie together.
At about 10:30, Rod dropped me off at my host home. My hosts are named Ismael and Marta, and they have two daughters, one of which still lives at home. I`ll go into more detail later (I need to get ready for breakfast here in a minute), but the missionaries told us that the Mexican people are very relational. I found this to be true. My hosts speak no English, but we talked for the next two hours, sharing pictures of our families.
From all our conversations, I found that they had been married about as long as Lora and I, and that their older daugher, Elba, is married and has one child. I met their younger daughter, Gabriel, last night, and will meet Elba on Monday when she comes to help with vacation Bible School.
It seems that Ismael and Marta have been Christians for about 23 years. Rod told me earlier that when the church here is fully mature, they would like Ismael to become their pastor.
Need to go, but in spite of my butchering of the Spanish languge, we were able to communicate a lot about our families, what Nebraska was like (they couldn`t believe the range of temperatures) and our lives in general. Very, very nice people.
Well, gotta run. I`ll try and write again tonight. I have a computer in my room (actually Gabrieli`s room), which was totally unexpected.
Tim
Friday, April 10, 2009
Valpo - No it's not a dog food......
Valpo - that's the nickname for Valparaiso College in Valparaiso, Indiana. This last month, James, Lora & I spent 3 days there. James' basketball team was accepted to the National Lutheran Basketball championships, and "Valpo" is where the games are held.
It was a pretty long drive out. We left at about 5:30 or so and arrived at around 4:00 in the afternoon. On Thursday night, we went to chapel, where thay had a worship service led by some students from the college. The worship band was pretty loud, but I enjoyed their music.
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James' team had their first game (double elimination) on Friday morning. They got behind early but then bounced back to tie it up in the 4th quarter. After missing a chance to go ahead in the final minute, the game went into overtime. In overtime, they fell behind and ended up losing.
They didn't end up playing again until Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. So, we decided to take a jaunt into Chicago. We visited the Museum of Science & Industry and the Navy Pier. We finished up by walking a looooong ways to the Sears Tower and then having supper with my cousin Troy and his wife Lisa at the Hard Rock Cafe. (Thanks for meeting us there!)
Below is a picture of Lora, James & I at the Navy Pier. Note the seagull giving us a strange look.......maybe he's looking wistfully at James' can of Dr. Pepper.....
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Hopefully I'll write again before 3 months is up.
Yikes....I need to get a life.......
It was a pretty long drive out. We left at about 5:30 or so and arrived at around 4:00 in the afternoon. On Thursday night, we went to chapel, where thay had a worship service led by some students from the college. The worship band was pretty loud, but I enjoyed their music.
James' team had their first game (double elimination) on Friday morning. They got behind early but then bounced back to tie it up in the 4th quarter. After missing a chance to go ahead in the final minute, the game went into overtime. In overtime, they fell behind and ended up losing.
They didn't end up playing again until Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. So, we decided to take a jaunt into Chicago. We visited the Museum of Science & Industry and the Navy Pier. We finished up by walking a looooong ways to the Sears Tower and then having supper with my cousin Troy and his wife Lisa at the Hard Rock Cafe. (Thanks for meeting us there!)
Below is a picture of Lora, James & I at the Navy Pier. Note the seagull giving us a strange look.......maybe he's looking wistfully at James' can of Dr. Pepper.....
The next day we got up at the crack of dawn to go the second game. Things were looking good at halftime - the Trinity Panthers were up by about 12 points. But in the second half, the Panthers just didn't do much offensively. In the last couple of minutes the game went back and forth in a tie. Then, with 2 seconds left, the other team shot a 3 pointer, to give them a 3 point lead. Sadly, the Panthers weren't able to tie it up in regulation.
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Hopefully I'll write again before 3 months is up.
Yikes....I need to get a life.......
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Happy New Year
Well, you can probably guess that it's been busy around here - given that I haven't posted to the blog since October. Yikes!
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The boys' cake, on the other hand . . . . . . .(That's supposed to be Ndamukong Suh - one of Nebraska's Defensive Linemen.)
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On our way back from Texas, we stopped in Dallas and had breakfast with George and Mary Stoneberg - some old friends from Fremont.
We had a really nice holiday, traveling about 1,700 miles to family in Nebraska and Texas. On our drive back from Texas, we crossed a cold front and saw the temperature drop from 77 degrees to 40 degrees in less than 35 miles. I personally perferred the temperature BEFORE the cold front.
Anyway, thought I'd post a few pictures from our time over the holidays.
The first is of my niece, who is rumored to be a genius. We asked her to display some of the impressive things that she's learning in high school and this is what we got:
Yes - she's certain to be a Rhodes scholar!
During the holidays, Lora stole, er... borrowed the camera and took some nice pictures of the scenery near my sister and brother-in-law's house. This was a nice shot of the sunset.
A few days after Christmas we went bowling, which was fun. The boys hung out with their cousins. The picture below clearly demonstrates that superior intelligence and charisma are deeply embedded in the DNA of this thar family.
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We finally left for Texas, learning quickly that snow and cold are not a prerequisite for the Christmas season. We had a nice time with my brother and sister-in-law and their family. While we were there I got to record my niece singing "Away in a Manger". I also attended my nephew's basketball practice and my other niece's soccer practice. Lora and I cooked one night and attempted to compete with my sister-in-law's cooking (I think she's directly related to Julia Child and Martha Stewart....)
My brother and sister-in-law treated the boys to a rock-climbing session. Here's a few pictures of Josh & James (Yes - Lora & I chickened out).
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We also visited the LBJ (Lyndon Baines Johnson) Presidential Library and went to a pretty crazy movie theater.
The last night we had a cake decorating contest - Girls vs. Boys. The girls' cake was very nice and "Christmassy".
The boys' cake, on the other hand . . . . . . .(That's supposed to be Ndamukong Suh - one of Nebraska's Defensive Linemen.)On our way back from Texas, we stopped in Dallas and had breakfast with George and Mary Stoneberg - some old friends from Fremont.
To all our relatives - thanks for putting up with us over the holidays!
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